It has been nearly three years since LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva was hired from Duke. He just went through his most public moment in his job when Michigan courted football coach Les Miles. Times-Picayune LSU beat writer Jim Kleinpeter sat down with Alleva to discuss that process and his reaction to it, among some other issues facing LSU athletics:

Can your tell us a little about how the pursuit of Les Miles by Michigan went down and where things stand now that he is staying in Baton Rouge?

Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneLSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva

Les was right up front with me from the beginning. He kept me informed of everything that was going on. We chatted regularly, probably four or five times a day. I was always concerned that whenever you have a talented employee and his alma mater comes after him, you've got to be concerned because there's always that "love of the old school." But as we talked and he worked it out in his mind, he's got a great love for this place. He's got a great program here going. He was never going to be able to go to Michigan and be Bo Schembechler. He couldn't be Bo Schembechler. At LSU, he could be Les Miles and leave a heck of a legacy here. In the long run, that's maybe what got to him.

Do you know if he was offered the job? Did he tell you he wouldn't leave even if he was?

I think there was a real chance he was going to take the job. Out of respect for him and Michigan, I'm going to take the same line they have taken as far as that's concerned. Personally, I believe he was offered the job. That's my personal belief. I'm not going to say any more than that.

How has your relationship with Les changed as a result? Is it strengthened?

I think I've always had a really good relationship with him. It's even better now. From the very first day I got here, I felt I had an instant kind of relationship with him. We've always communicated real well. When you go through something like this, it strengthens your relationship with someone.

Before the season, your tack was "Let's see what happens" in response to hot-seat rumors. Have things turned out the way you thought?

I was really pleased with the season. We won 10 (regular-season) games and lost two that we easily could have won. We probably came three or four plays from playing for the national championship, or having a shot. In this league, that's pretty good.

Is that a lesson for those with the hot-seat talk?

That was a lot of talk and chatter. The guys has won 62 games in six years. He's done a really good job. Les is like all of us - every coach, writer, AD, doctor, lawyer has strengths and weaknesses. When you look at Les' strengths, they far outweigh his weaknesses. He has done a tremendous job of recruiting, getting the kids to play for him, having the kids respect him, having them play hard. He's a great role model for our kids.

Fans have complained of being embarrassed nationally by things Les does and says. Les addressed his communication problems recently. What is your take of those aspects of his performance?

I've talked to him about this, and he said it in his press conference the other day. His strength is his loyalty and his weakness is his loyalty. He will never throw a kid or a coach under the bus. He won't do it. Sometimes they need to be thrown under the bus, but he won't do it. Because of that, he comes across as he doesn't know what's going on or failure to communicate. But really, he's being protective of those people.

LSU is waiting on word from the NCAA on the self-imposed penalties for the recruiting violations from 2009. How confident are you the NCAA will accept LSU's version?

I'm confident of this: I'm confident we have handled it the best we can handle it. We discovered it. We reported it. We did everything exactly right. We are hopeful they will accept the penalties we've imposed. There's a possibility they could add more. But looking back through history and what they've imposed for things like that in the past, I think we're very close to where it should be.

The Cam Newton issue is undoubtedly going to reverberate through the future. How do you see that playing out?

President Emmert came out and said the NCAA has to adopt better rules on what parents can do. I'm sure that's going to happen very shortly. It's hard to comment because I'm not at Mississippi State or Auburn, so I really don't know the intricacies. But I'm sure if they could have proved anything, there would have been more consequences. There was a lot of talk, but no proof. You've got to prove (Newton) got money, and they couldn't, so he played. What are you going to do?

Chancellor Mike Martin was not here when you were hired. How would you characterize your relationship with him?

Mike Martin is absolutely the best president or chancellor I've ever worked for. He loves athletics, he understands athletics. He's very supportive. He's been the chancellor here through maybe some of the toughest times from a budget standpoint and handled it extremely well. He's a pleasure to work for. I hope he's here a long time.

What are his strengths?

He's a real people person. He relates well to faculty and the students and coaches. He's very bright, an economist by trade, so he understands business and finance.

With that in mind, how has the financial crisis affected the athletic department?

A lot. As there's more budget strain on the university, it looks to us for more money. We're giving back close to $8 million a year. That's $8 million I could be doing other things with. There's a lot of facilities we could build with that. And there are schools we compete against that are not doing that. They have $8 million to spend that I don't, so as years go on, they're getting a competitive advantage on us. It's up from about $4 million when I first got here.

So things like an indoor tennis center, improvements to the natatorium, the ideas you had for Tiger Stadium are on hold?

Yes. That money's not there. For $8 (million) to $10 million, we could build a nice tennis center. We could spend $1 (million) to $2 million on Tiger Stadium, and you wouldn't see it. It's an old facility that needs a lot of work. We're not going to build a new stadium, so we need to keep it up. It's like having an old house. You have to take care of it.

Is there anything that will proceed?

We're putting in the (commemorative) windows. They will go in this spring. Not all of them, just the north side of the stadium. That's all we're funded for. We have to fix up the outside of the stadium and the restrooms inside. Waterproof the whole stadium, the plumbing; bit by bit we've got to replace the pipes, the electrical. So much infrastructure we could spend money on that you wouldn't see, but it has to be done.

Are you seeking alternate revenue streams?

We had Bayou Country Music Fest, the first time we've ever had a concert in Tiger Stadium. That's solely because we are looking for new sources of revenue. The seat backs in Tiger Stadium are a new phase we've brought in. We're constantly looking for new ways to generate money.

How much do you make on the Superfest?

Around $300,000 to $400,000.

Do you see more concerts?

No, one time a year. Part of the deal is the turf has to be replaced by the promoters. It totally destroys the turf.

What about the possibility of artificial turf in Tiger Stadium?

I like grass. It's not in the foreseeable future.

What about connecting the upper decks by enclosing South End?

That's a possibility. If that ever happens, we'll probably have to put (artificial) turf on the field because it will block the sun so much the grass won't go. That would force the turf.

Do you have any concerns about the direction of the basketball program?

I think Trent Johnson really has things going in the right direction. Last year, there wasn't much talent on the team other than Tasmin Mitchell. This year, he's reloaded with a bunch of freshmen that have potential. Next year, bringing in the transfer (Justin Hamilton) coming online and the big kid from Mississippi (Johnny O'Bryant), when you put them with what we have now, we're going to be pretty good next year. ... I think the future is very, very bright. Anyone who knows basketball knows were headed in the right direction.

Do you feel ingrained in the culture now that you understand it?

Yes, I really do. We've developed tremendous friends here. The culture here is awesome. The people are great. They love to have a good time, they love football, athletics.